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21 September, 2012

Somaliland crises that need to be addressed

Somaliland crises that need to be addressed

Written by Jama Falaag

Writing on today's Somaliland politics is trying to make sense out of nonsense. The are crises that need to be addressed, national issues that need national conversation. We have crises of political immaturity. We have crises of leadership character. We have crises of credibility and common-cause clarity. We have crises of corruption scandals and culture deficiency..

What do crises mean? What do they reveal. What is the root cause of these crises? How and when can we overcome them? What is the remedy?.

These crises mean that Somlailand people never seem to grow aware of what polity or politics is. They mean that the of Somaliland have problems of who is to reform who. They reveal that they never practice what they preach. They show that Somaliland people are always betraying themselves and that they are always led with lies.

A good thing to start with is the reality that countries do not make people. It is the people who make their countries. But basically building countries depends on how well people run their affairs, how they rule themselves, how well they mobilize themselves and rework their material resources to fashion and form an administration that embodies new and ethical enduring values. Has Somaliland ever been ruled by a government that embodied new and enduring values?

Beginning from Egal to Riyaale to the current Siilanyo, Somaliland has been wandering in a political desert, never witnessing any progress in the fields of politics and governance. Much of the political history of Somaliland over the last decades has not involved replacing what did not work well with what could work well and sound good. In area after area - governance transparency, integrity, accountability - the situation has been getting worse and worse year after year. The amazing thing is that this failure of politics has neither discouraged Somalailand politicians nor discredited them.

A known fact is that Somaliland politics has become a business, something that puts money into one's pocket.The demand, needs, and requirements of the people are not in the focus of any politician's attention. The attention of every Somalailand politician is only focused on how much money he might make out of the country's meager resources; no more no less. A passion for leading the nation aright at first, an intention for amassing opulent wealth at last, both defined as tactics for deceiving the people.

Riyaale had ruled Somalailand for more then eight years. Siilaanyo was fighting for presidency for more two decades and has been Somliland head of state for nearly two and half years. Faisal Ali Waraabe, who failed to prove himself by any practical sens, was also barking and hankering for power for more than a decade, and still continues to pray for privileges and pelf.

What Riyaale and Siilanyo have contributed to the country and citizens? Have Udub and Kulmiye parties created positive changes that enabled the pubic to make big strides towards progress? The difference between the two parties lies in their attitude and approaches.

Udub is a national party, a party that belongs to all Somaliland people, not favaring any group or tribe. It is more conservative and more disciplined than Ucid and Kulmiye. Udubhas a method of better messaging than UcId and Kulmiye have. Its political strategies were always plain. Its strong hold has traditionally been old and intellectual Somalilanders.

Ucid, as it is widely argued, is an NGO rather than political party. It is a party that is owned by one man, who has no solid political direction. Faisl's method of messaging is always contradictory. How Jamal Ali has become Ucid's future presidential candidate tells us the true picture of what this party is a ll about.

Unlike Udub and Ucid, Kulmiye is a clan-led party. The push and prressure behind it was "Tolaayey", a combination of in-confidence and complexity. Its national strategy was and still is more propaganistic than practical, probably baseless accusations and allegations against Udub Administration. The messages this party use to tell to the people are always crass

In an era and a society that always opts to focus more on "we than all of us", it is plain that these parties will kiss the dust in the coming local elections. Obviously Ucid is already on the coffin, Udub physically crumbled and Kulmiye will collapse.

The new parties themselves have no ethos. They all look like an amalgam of various interests, underlining the point that politics is reiterating the old tradition, repeating the useles routines, and rephrasing what is already known and what obviously did not work well. Each party has its own roots in a specific clan. No party is an-all Somalailand party. None has the country wide followers. What goes well with one party does not go well with others. The bigger question before them is what they will sell. Which party will join with which one is an open question.

Above versions tell us the truth that Somalailand politics is evil in its sense, an illusion that makes one selfish, self-centered, irreverent and cynical. It sharpens the greed and hardens the hearts. It lays little or no emphasis on such basic values as truth, honesty, humility, compassion, forbearance, and justices. It makes one conscious about one's own interests, not social responsibility. It promotes opportunistic outlook and generates unhealthily ethics and ethos.

Accountability and transparency based values can help restrain the sense, the mind, the intellect and the imagination from going astray, provide a blueprint for disciplined living, inoculate sincere attitude and a sense of social responsibility and transform juvenile delinquents into responsible citizens.

The renaissance of higher values through hard and fast rules and regulations would hep us overcome the crises of character and corruption procedures and stem the mad race for positions and pelf.

Trust comes from transparency. Effort comes from ability. Trust and efforts achieve milestones. When there is a vein of nationalism, people will share their ideas and the coordination of efforts in the service of mutual help becomes inevitable.

When irrational arguments are left unquestioned and gain broad acceptance, the gab between self-serving lies and sincerity becomes unbridgeable and failure becomes inevitable.

The big question is when and how we can learn to better resist making irrational decisions and hold onto insane beliefs that are based on disastrous miscalculations? Having an awareness of how to define and defend vital national interests is a good start. A key success in political progress is the ability to allow the best ideas to be heard and taken on. We cannot talk about political progress unless we are fully driven to the last extremity which makes political progress possible.

The people must know what exactly they want to achieve, where they have come from and where they are going to. They must know that their say is more powerful fthan what so-called Somaliland politicians and public figures intend to do. Somaliland people should not be people that anyone can lead and rule as he wants.

Politicians are people, who when they see a light at the end of the tunnel, come out and buy some more tunnels.Siilaanyo is far from being that. He is a hopeless man. He is not grand and godly. He is not great in in any respect. One cannot find "UF and EGEG" in man's literature.

The current Somalialnd administration is not working well for Saomlaind. The war against Somaliweyn is not going well. The urgent need, above all, is one concerted heave. The option of weave-and-duck must be over sooner than later.